Ocean Deep
by StrifeRose
Summary: Neve, a trainer from Sootopolis makes her living diving for treasure with her pokemon. She soon finds more than treasure; much more than she ever imagined...
1. Chapter 1: Neve's Story

Neve always loved afternoons in Sootopolis. This particular afternoon was clear, warm and the water was just right. The sun was glowing brightly in the middle the rim of the volcano so there were no shadows cast over the city. Neve had finished her errands before midday so she had the whole afternoon to dive.

Like many people in Sootopolis, Neve loved to dive. The waters around the city were clear and mostly calm, and varied in depth from deep underwater trenches to the shore inside the city safe enough for toddlers to learn to paddle. It was common for people to base their lives around the water, and so many made their incomes from the sea. Neve was one of them, and she spent much of her time diving for treasures, artefacts and shards to sell and trade around the area. The sea was so vast and full of life and wonder, there was never a shortage of living to be made for anyone that worked hard.

She grabbed her canvas bag and jogged down the steps from her little house, towards the inlet sloshing in from the underwater entrance to the city. She unclipped the three pokeballs from her belt and they expanded in her hand to full size shortly before she threw them into the water before her. Splashing into the water were a Vaporeon, a Tentacruel and a Dewgong.

She was 22 years old and had lived in Sootopolis for all her life. Her parents had always loved the water and had encouraged her to swim since she could walk, and for her tenth birthday present had given her first pokemon to her as a present; an Eevee. The two were inseparable and as Neve grew so did her pokemon and she let it choose its evolution itself. Fittingly, it chose a water stone, and her Vaporeon always swam with her whenever she dived for treasures. It was called Marina and was her constant companion.

When she was fourteen she caught a Tentacool just outside the city whilst she was swimming with Marina and her friend Tristy. Tristy had bet that Neve couldn't catch the pokemon with a single pokeball and she had thrown it just to see what would happen. Luckily, the Tentacool was caught, Neve named him Tider and they quickly became fast friends. He evolved two years later after saving Neve from an overly-territorial Kingler.

Her Dewgong was named Snow and was the latest addition to her pokemon team. The Seel he evolved from met her when she was exploring Shoal Cave at high tide, looking for treasures to make into jewellery for Tristy's market stall. The Seel had led them to a cluster of pretty seashells and was eager to follow her home, so Neve had thrown a pokeball and Seel was hers to keep. He was named after the snow that sparkled on the lip of the volcano on crisp winter mornings, and he had evolved only last month. He was playing in the waves, and as he breached his soft fur glowed an even brighter white than Neve had ever seen, and his cute, chubby form elongated into something new, graceful and sleek. Droplets of water encapsulated him as he evolved and shone like hundreds of tiny diamonds. It was the most beautiful thing Neve had ever seen and as he broke the water again as a Dewgong, Neve rushed up straight away and hugged him. He seemed to be able to swim faster now and enjoyed spinning and twisting in the waves even more than before.

Neve ran the last few paces and paused at the waters edge, kicking off her trainers and socks and lifting her t-shirt over her head. She always wore a bikini top under her t-shirt, as she often went for swims during the day and didn't want to have to change. Her black wavy hair brushed her shoulders as she dived straight into the sea with her beloved Pokemon, and made for the exit to the city. The sea was so clear that visibility was never a problem, and she sped towards the exit as Snow spun around her. She dipped through the doorway and up, rising towards the surface.

Bursting through the surface and flicking her hair back, she surveyed her landscape. There was not a cloud in sight and she could hear the soft cries of Wingull flocking overhead. Apart from Sootopolis there was not an inch of mainland in sight, although there were a couple of rocky mounds a little further out she could see on the horizon. Trainers often went to those rocks to train in seclusion, as there was enough sand in the centre to camp for a few days and the rocks kept most of the tide off. She liked challenging the trainers as she swam past sometimes, as she knew they liked to be kept on their toes. To her left she could see a few sprays of water blow into the air and the occasional dorsal fin, and she knew that Wailmer, or perhaps the rarer Wailord, were about. She set off in that direction, holding Tider and letting him take her through the water at speed towards the whale pokemon. Marina and Snow played together in the waves, twisting over each other and mewing cries of delight at the speed they could reach.

As they came in sight of the pokemon she saw that it was a pod of Wailmer, and as it was spring the mothers were travelling with their new calves. The calves were enjoying their roundness as they grew larger, and sped towards the surface to bounce on the waves. Neve let go of Tider and swam a little way up to them, stopping to allow the Wailmer to approach them, giving them permission to play with their calves. They dived and swam with the huge pokemon, drifting sideways off their wake. The calves were inquisitive and circled them as they swam, curiously watching Neve's limbs and how they helped her swim, and tried to catch Snow and Marina as they sped and turned around them, like the sleekest underwater ferrets. But most of all the babies couldn't stop staring and investigating Tider's long tentacles. The anxious mothers kept an eye on them whilst they swam up to him, but they needn't worry, for Tider knew not to sting the Wailmer, and allowed the calves to play with him without any danger of a Tentacruel's lethal poison.

When the Wailmer eventually moved on, Neve took a deep breath and dived down to the bottom with her pokemon, holding onto Marina to help speed her along. The bottom of the sea here was thriving with coral forests and any sandy space was littered with brilliantly coloured pebbles. Shoals of Magikarp and Goldeen swam by, making the already shimmering light from the surface waver even more. Marina kept close to Neve, her large round eyes scanning the ocean floor for anything that might glint. Snow kept his nose in the sand, his long fins swishing this way and that as his nose flicked pebbles all about, only pausing in surprise as he scared a Relicanth from his hiding place in the sand.

"Poooreeeeeeeon!"

Marina's paws scrabbled between pebbles, and as Neve got closer she could see a tiny glint of red in the white sand. She dug with her fingers and pulled a red shard from the seafloor, stuffing it into the canvas bag at her side. She swam towards the surface for breath, and dived down to her friends once more.

After half an hour at this, they had uncovered quite a haul. Marina had found another red shard and two big pearls, whilst Snow had sniffed out some Stardust and a blue shard. The catch of the day, however, had to be when Tider had approached her and with a satisfied and rumbling "Tentaaa", had presented her with a stone dagger which looked as though it was made of black onyx held out in a furled tentacle. She knew a stone collector in Mossdeep who would be sure to pay a good amount for this, and she rode Tider to the surface and back to Sootopolis with a smile on her face and the wind in her hair.

Back in her house she emptied her bag onto her small wooden kitchen table and laid everything out. She had picked out a couple of pretty seashells to sell to Tristy, who had asked her specifically to look for small blue shells on her next dive. She washed everything in the sink to clean off the sand and saltwater and laid everything out to dry on her windowsill. She wrote a note to call her stone collector later in the afternoon and stuck it to her fridge underneath a magnet shaped like a Staryu. She made lunch for herself and her pokemon and headed over to Tristy's house with her newest treasure.

Tristy ran a stall in the square by the pokemon centre which was just down from her house. She sold some of the shards and other trinkets Neve found on the seafloor, as well as things she had found herself, and things bought from other citizens of Sootopolis. Many residents had little stalls in the square; as such trinket shops selling seafloor treasures were popular amongst tourists visiting the world's only city inside the belly of an inactive volcano. But, her specialty which set her apart from the others was her homemade jewellery. Sometimes, she would make seashells, small pebbles, beach glass, shards and pearls into earrings, brooches, necklaces and bracelets for happy tourists, and as they were such good friends, Neve always took her findings to Tristy before anybody else.

"Heeeeey beautiful!" Tristy exclaimed, before running around her stall to give Neve a big hug. Tristy had long, copper hair and freckles speckling her tanned features. Her bright green eyes complimented Neve's blue ones, and they were around the same height too. She clapped excitedly and let out a long "oooooohhh" as Neve showed her what she had brought.

"These are perfect!" she said as she held up the small blue shells. "These are going to make a wonderful pair of earrings. I sold all my earrings last week, I really need to make more. People seem to love them!"

"As long as you make a pair for me too;" Neve smiled, Tristy's jewellery was the best in the world and she always loved getting freebies for her hard work.

"Marill!" Neve looked down to see Tristy's Marill, Tora, rubbing her leg with her tail. She bent down and stroked her soft fur, and Tora nuzzled against her hand.

"Marill, rill!"

"Poreeeon." Marina rubbed her head against Tora's tail bobble like a cat, and the two mewed and chased each other between the girls' legs and under the stall.

"Neve, I gotta show you something!" Tristy reached under the counter and pulled out the ornate wooden box featuring a Wailord carving she used to keep her jewellery supplies in. She opened it and scooped out a few small objects into her hand, before scattering them out onto the table.

Neve gasped. It was a collection of the brightest, most amazing seashells she had ever seen. They were the brightest, most pure colours and each of them sparkled as if coated with a fine glitter. She picked up a pink one and examined it closely. It had a small chip in it and the sparkle ran right through it.

"I had pebbles like this too. I put them for sale yesterday, to see how they sold, and they were snapped up in no time at all. Customers were like a bunch of hungry Totodile. I'm definitely making the shells more expensive."

"Where did you get these?" Neve asked, tearing her gaze away from a beautiful turquoise shell.

"A guy. I've never seen him before, he turned up with a group of tourists three days ago and sold me these. Apparently," she said, leaning closer, "there's a cavern deep down, somewhere south of here. And I mean really deep. You'll need to get a pokemon to swim you down, because apparently it's somewhere in a trench."

Tider would be perfect for that, Neve thought. She had never seen anything like this, and she had explored these waters all her life. Who knew what else is down there?

"What are you doing later on?" Neve said; "We could do a little exploring ourselves. Our pokemon are perfect swimmers, I bet they could get us down there in no time."

"Peeon!" Marina exclaimed proudly, pausing from batting the bobble on Tora's tail.

"Then it's settled. I'll close up shop early. Time for a little deep-sea exploring!"


	2. Chapter 2: The Cave

After taking her prizes around to her neighbouring sellers, Neve headed home and begun to ready her bag for her afternoon of exploring. She set aside a waterproof torch, which was short, thick but very bright; perfect for investigating a deep-sea trench. She took a couple of empty pokeballs, because you never know what pokemon you might meet at the bottom of the sea. She rooted around what she called her 'pokemon care cupboard' – a cupboard underneath her kitchen counter where she kept all the supplies for her pokemon friends. She pulled out three potions and an antidote, and stuffed them in the bag. Making sure she had plenty of room left to bring treasures back with her, she shouldered her bag and went over to the living area of her small house. Next to the small Jigglypuff shaped television set was a map of Hoenn pinned to the wall. She leant in close and studied the area around Sootopolis. Over the years she had made notes on where the best treasure spots were, and where certain types of water pokemon lived or gathered to breed. A blank area of the map free of notes and tacks was just south east of Sootopolis, as the water was too deep to free-dive by herself, and the times she had dived with her pokemon, she had never found anything interested enough to make note of. She didn't know of anywhere else close by with deep trenches, so she assumed the shells Tristy had must have come from somewhere around there.

Tearing her eyes away from the map, she grinned at Marina and headed towards the door. She didn't bother taking her trainers, as the shore was only a short walk down the city's steps. On the way past her little wooden kitchen table she grabbed the two pokeballs containing Snow and Tider and clipped them onto her belt. She would definitely need their help, and they would all enjoy exploring waters they didn't go to very often. Especially Tider, as Neve knew that wild Tentacruel often spent lots of time diving to the bottom of the deepest sea after evolution.

She got to Sootopolis' shoreline to find Tristy was already waiting with her pokemon; Tora, her Marill was hopping up and down excitedly on the grass whilst her beloved Cloyster, named Steeler, bathed in the shallows. Neve threw her pokeballs and Snow and Tider flew out from the capsules into the blue water. Marina wove around Neve's legs in excitement, almost tripping her, and Tristy laughed as she took off her shoes and t-shirt and jumped into the water with Tora. Neve dived in too, just ahead of Marina, and she barely saw Tristy turn to the shore and drag her bag off the grass before the water rushed over her and all other thoughts left her mind. There was nothing better than being under the water, looking into the blue with her best friends around her.

They swam out together, out to the deeper waters of the south. The pokemon played with each other in the surf near the city, and bounced in the waves further out. Neve and Tristy dived too, and swam amongst passing shoals of Magikarp, holding their arms out and stroking the sides of the fish pokemon with their fingertips.

When they had swum out above water so deep they couldn't see the bottom, only endless dark blue, they chose a pokemon to hold onto to take them down. Tristy chose Steeler, and Neve clung onto Tider. They sank swiftly down, and soon they were swimming in the dark. Both girls turned on their torches, and shone beams of light into the abyss. All along the expanse of the rocky trench there was nothing, but a shadow playing off the torch beam caught their attention. It was a cave. Looking at each other, they decided to surface, but signalled to their other pokemon to swim into the cave ahead of them.

Breaking the surface and gasping for air, the two waited for their pokemon to come back with news of what the cave contained. According to Neve's map, they had never found anything of note in this area before.

"Porrreeeereeon!" A mew came from Neve's left and she turned to see those familiar wide eyes staring at her, reflecting the water's light.

"Did you find anything good?" Tristy asked, looking over at Snow and Tora as they surfaced too.

"Rill rill!" Marrill bounced on the surface excitedly as Snow rolled over in the waves, circling the girls. He slapped his fins on the water with their questions.

"What did you find? Is there something in there?" Marill mewed and bobbed up and down on the surf in answer to her trainer's questions, obviously eager to sink down again into the cave to show Tristy.

"More importantly," Neve said, turning from Tristy's smiling face to her pokemon, "is there somewhere we can breathe?"

"Poooor! Poreeeeeon!" Marina dipped below the surface slightly to come up again between Neve's arms, her nose inches from her face. Neve knew this look. There was something down there Marina desperately wanted her to see.

"What do you think, Tris?" Neve looked over at her friend. "If we can breathe alright, there's nothing stopping us."

Tristy grinned. "Alright Steeler, you know what to do!"

With a growl, Steeler and Tristy sank below the waves, Tora right behind them. Neve and her pokemon followed, approaching the deep blue quickly. Torches on, they found the mouth of the cave quickly, and Marina, Snow and Tora turned into the dark maw with the ease of a cart of a rollercoaster hitting a curve at high speed. Steeler and Tider followed, taking the girls into the cave.

It was far darker in here than out in open sea. The girls watched with wide eyes as their torchlight bounced off the walls, but they didn't see anything glinting, catching their eyesight. Following their pokemon into further darkness, they began to curve up slightly, into something above them that shimmered in their torchlight.

Before the girls could figure out what it was, they hit it and emerged into air. Damp, salty air, but perfectly breathable. They looked around them, still surprised at their emergence into a surface, and surveyed their surroundings.

They were in a huge rocky cave. Surfaced in a dark pool, there was a tunnel ahead of them, the walls made of dark, wet rock. The water on the surface of the walls shone strangely. Steeler and Tider took them to the edge of the pool and allowed them to step off onto the rocky floor. It was wet and cold underfoot. The girls called Steeler, Tider and Snow back into their balls, and Marina and Tora walked along beside them.

"Wait…" Neve shone her torch beam around the cavernous tunnel. "This isn't... Tris! This isn't water on these walls! Look!"

The glistening on the rock walls, upon closer inspection, wasn't water. It was that same glittery rock that Tristy's pebbles were made out of, and sure enough, many tiny glittering pebbles were sunk into the wall, their colours dancing in their torchlight. At their feet lay seashells of many different colours.

The pokemon cried out in delight and ran to look closer at the treasure. Tristy immediately ran to one wall and took out a pen-knife from her bag and started prying pebbles from the rock. In less than fifteen minutes her bag was filled with the sparkling seashells and pebbles.

Neve, on the other hand, was more concerned with what was in the cave. She had indeed collected pretty coloured shells and stowed them in her bag, but she wondered what other treasures could lie further in the tunnel.

"Neve!" Tristy called, "I'm heading back!" She rattled her full bag. "Or do you want me to stay on here with you?"

Neve could almost hear the smile on her friends face. She knew how excited she would be to go back and start making jewellery with these.

"It's alright sweetie. You head back." She turned and grinned at her friend. "I want to explore a little more. Don't worry, I got Marina, Snow and Tider to keep me safe."

"Alright then. Well, you have a good time!" She raised her hand and waved, then released Steeler from his ball into the pool and stepped onto him, sinking down beneath the water to head back to the city. Tora jumped in after them with a parting "Rill!" and suddenly Neve and Marina were left alone.

She touched the sides of the closed pokeballs on her belt for comfort. It seemed a lot darker in here now without Tristy's torch. She shone her light ahead of her and Marina was close by, as always. There was a steady drip, drip sound as salt water leaked from somewhere. The tunnel begun to widen as she walked down it. How big was this place?

Neve found herself stood in an expanse. A huge cave, the size of an entire contest hall. The torchlight struggled to reach the ceiling. She could just about make out two exits to this place; one to the left of her set in a far wall, and another to her right up a short flight of steps.

"What do you think Marina?" she asked, looking down at the waiting Vaporeon. Her skin glistened in the torchlight like a bright blue dolphin, and she looked up with a "pheee" that echoed around the spacious cavern. With that, she trotted off left, and Neve followed.

Instead of another tunnel, this exit led into another open cave. It was far bigger than the last one though, to the point where Neve could not even see the other side. Instead, it had a huge lake in the middle.

"Can you see anything Marina?" Neve whispered, although she was not sure why. Perhaps the echoes were making her feel slightly nervous.

"Poooooreee" was Marina's soft reply, turning her face to the girl's. The pokemon took a step towards the water, and dipped in a paw.

"Poree poreon!" She wagged her flukes and jumped in, surfacing to turn and look at the girl. "Peeeeon."

"Ok then. If you say so." Neve tentatively stepped into the water. It was much colder than the warm sea around Sootopolis. She pushed off from the sides and ducked her head under, shining her torch around the sides. Only vast, dark blue. But Marina's eyes could see far better underwater than Neve's, and she swam ahead, obviously seeing something in the blue. Neve took hold of Marina and they swam through the underwater lake, until they reached a rock wall on the other side. Marina sank down, and Neve shone her torch around until she could see a small opening in the rock wall, just about big enough for her and Marina to swim through. Once through the opening, they found themselves in a narrow tunnel that quickly sloped upwards. They surfaced again, and looked around. This time the cave they were in was slightly smaller than the one before, and as Neve flicked her light around she saw another expanse of water in the centre. She pulled herself out of the pool.

Walking over to the water, Marina suddenly froze.

"What is it?" Neve turned around to her friend, who was staring at the glassy surface of the water. Neve shone her torch beam onto it. It was so still. Like a giant mirror.

Suddenly, a small ripple broke the stillness in the middle of the lake. Neve froze too. 'What's in there?' she thought. 'A gyarados?' her hand went to the pokeballs at the side of her belt.

Marina took a step forward. Her eyes never left the spot where the ripple started. She paused and took another step. The ripple had reached the shore now, and washed over Marina's front paws. She leaned closer to the surface of the glassy lake, and touched her face to the water.


	3. Chapter 3: Ferry to Mossdeep

Marina's body slinked smoothly into the water with the smallest splash. The mirrored surface of the underground lake rippled where she disappeared, and after a few seconds the ripples died and all was still again. The damp air clung to Neve's skin and the breaths she drew into her body were cold.

Worried for Marina, she took a tentative step towards the water. The floor was damp and cold on her feet, and each step seemed heavier than the last. She had never been nervous around water before, but now she was filled with a sense of unknown; which made her feel uneasy. She couldn't remember the last time she was somewhere unfamiliar without Marina by her side.

She took a deep breath. If Marina needed help down there, she would need Neve to come in and get her. Or maybe there was something she wanted Neve to see. Whatever the situation was, Neve couldn't leave Marina in the water alone. It wasn't right. She stepped back on her right foot, took a pace forward and dived in.

The cold water hit her like a brick wall. This water was far, far colder than the previous pool she had entered, and she cried out in a stream of bubbles. It was dark, and she couldn't tell how deep she was or where Marina was. A shrill purr sounded ahead of her and she swam forward, recognising Marina's cry.  
>Suddenly the pool lit up, illuminating Marina's silhouette a few feet ahead of her. But Neve gasped at the sudden light, almost inhaling a mouthful of icy water. The light came from a huge shape in front of her, lighting up a red network that spanned around 50 feet in length. But it was a distinct shape. A shape she had seen before, in picture books and museums…<br>A golden eye flashed open along a line of red, and the huge shape moved. The red lines were patterned into huge pectoral flippers, longer than Marina's house was tall. The lines down it's body wavered as it's tail flukes slowly beat, pushing the creature forward with a strength Neve could only imagine. She reached forward and placed a hand on the back of Marina for strength, and she felt the colossal pokemons gaze on her. She knew it could sweep her aside and bash her into the rock face with one movement of its fins if it wanted.  
>The gaze bored down into her soul and she felt judged. The pokemon was trying to decide something about her. She grasped Marina harder, holding her with both arms. All this had happened very quickly; the giant pokemon had lit up its display of red within a second of Neve entering the pool, but she felt as though her breath was short. The pokemon before them opened its mouth to reveal many small, cone-shaped teeth and it let out a cry so low it shook Neve's bones and vibrated through the rock face. She felt a pulse from somewhere far below her and the water began to tremble. The pokemon tipped backwards, as though raising its gaze to the surface and cavern roof, and the water swirled around them all.<p>

The water whirled around them all, the giant pokemon at the centre, and Neve felt herself and Marina picked up in the current and spun around. She could feel herself rising; she clung onto Marina and tried to reach her pokeballs to let out Tider, but the force of the water stopped her moving her arms. All she could do was hold on, hold her breath and hope.

Spinning upwards through the cavern, and seemingly through the roof, she

suddenly felt herself released into the air, away from the thundering of the water, as though fired out of a cannon. In shock she breathed in, inhaling mostly air but also water mist and fine droplets of water that dampened the salty sea air. She let go of Marina and she watched the Vaporeon flying with water around her against the free blue sky.  
>It felt as though time were passing in slow-motion. Marina turned away from her in the sky, spinning with the vortex of water that had just exploded out of the sea. The sea and the sky seemed to blend into one, sparkling droplets of water moving before her eyes in patterns she didn't understand.<br>All at once she fell towards the ocean again, downwards and turning over in the air, flailing and screaming. She hit the waves with a splash, yelling out the names of her pokemon and releasing them into the water in a shot of red hazes. She quickly escaped to the surface and inhaled more air than she had ever had in her lungs before, appreciating the wonderful, fresh tastes of being alive. Tider surfaced underneath her, carrying her and Marina up on him towards the city. She looked towards Sootopolis and saw they were much farther out than they had been when they started.

As Tider carried her towards home, she wondered what had happened to the huge pokemon she had seen in the lake. Stroking Marina absentmindedly, she wondered if, during her brief stint flying through the air, she had indeed seen the pokemon leaving the water for the sky with her, or if the blue and white flash she had seen was simply the sky, sea and clouds swirling around her. 

Before she knew it she was back in the city, climbing the steps to her house and setting her sopping wet bag on her kitchen table. She had skipped a chat with Tristy, whose market stall was unoccupied and was bound to be at home cleaning her shells and pebbles of deeply encrusted sand and salt. She grabbed the phone from the hook in the kitchen area and a towel from the railing on the wall by the window and laid it down on the sofa-bed before flopping down onto it and keying a number into the pad. As it rang, she squinted at the note stuck to the fridge, making sure she had got the number right. She was still reading the number to herself when a voice spoke, startling her.

"Hello?"  
>The voice was male, and familiar to her. She smiled.<br>"Hello, Steven. It's Neve. How are you doing?"

Steven was an old friend of Neve's. He once visited with a group of

tourists a few years back, eager to see the city in a volcano. She had got talking to him at Tristy's market stall, where he was less interested in her jewellery than in the artefacts Neve happened to be showing Tristy at the time. He explained he was a collector, and had seen very few examples of interesting rocks and artefacts found on the seafloor. They had further discussed the topic over lunch and coffee, and had established a firm friendship.

Neve described the black knife to him, and his interest was piqued, as she

expected.

"Fascinating, simply fascinating. Neve I must see this knife, but at the moment something has come up, I've just returned from seeing my father in Rustboro and the gym leaders have a word or two to have with me about one of their pokemon; a Lunatone seems to have developed a crack in it and they think I may be able to help. Could you bring the knife to me, so that I may have a look at it? I understand it might be troublesome, but you needn't worry. I can arrange for a ferry to pick you up, I'll pay your ticket charge, naturally."

Neve sank back into her chair. She was tired, certainly, but a trip might be just what she needed right now. Besides, she had never visited Mossdeep before, and she had heard from Steven it was a beautiful place.

"Sure thing, Steven," she smiled, "what time's the ferry?" 


	4. Chapter 4: Fight, Friend and Favour

The ferry was due to come by in less than an hour. Neve suggested simply riding to Mossdeep on the back of Tider, stopping for rests at the many small rock-islands in the sea between them, but Stephen insisted that it would be too tiring and that for such a long trip at short notice he should cover her transport.

Which was very nice of him, Neve thought to herself as she packed a bag with supplies for her trip; food for herself and her pokemon, medicine, spare clothes and of course the knife that Stephen wanted to see. She double and triple checked she had everything, and locked the door to her little house, stuffing the key into a compartment in her bag. With her pokeballs at her belt and Marina running down the steps with her, she had everything she could ever want.

Before catching the ferry she wanted to make a stop at the Pokemon Centre. Before going on a journey she had to make sure her pokemon were rested after the ordeal she had earlier. The Pokemon Centre was at the bottom of town, near the shore where you could enter and exit.

"Come on Marina." Neve held out a pokeball to the waiting Vaporeon. "You know the drill." Marina blinked her large eyes at Neve and purred softly before nudging the pokeball button with her nose, encapsulating her in a flash of red. Neve stepped inside the Pokemon Centre and felt a cool blast of air conditioning.

The floors were tiled peach and every surface glimmered. Trainers grouped together on comfy looking chairs, chatting about strategies, and tourists gazed at the water-pokemon paintings and photographs on the walls. Walking up to the counter she smiled at Nurse Joy, who greeted her with a wave.

"Good morning Neve!" Her smile was genuine and met her eyes; Neve knew she loved her job and prided herself in taking the best care of pokemon. "How can I help you today?" Her soft pink hair fell in curls above her brows and they were held in round loops either side of her face. Neve had always admired her hair and wished she shared the rare gene all Joy's family had; her and all her sisters and cousins had pink hair.

Neve placed her three pokeballs on the counter in front of Joy. "I think my pokemon need a bit of a rest. We had a little bit of an adventure diving earlier, and I'm going away for a few days so I want to make sure they're not too tired." Joy took the pokeballs and handed them to her Chansey, who was stood next to her and only on eye level with the counters surface. Chansey took the pokeballs happily ("Chaaaan!") and placed them into the machine behind the counter.

"This will only take a few moments." Joy smiled, her hair bouncing in their soft curls. "Tell me Neve, where are you going? Is it a diving expedition? Or a holiday? You deserve a break, you work hard!" She laughed softly; a very musical sound.

"I'm going to Mossdeep." Neve's eyes wandered to the map on the wall on the other side of the counter. "I have a friend over there, he wants to examine an artefact I found diving, so he invited me for a few days."

Nurse Joy's eyes widened and she gasped. "Oh! Mossdeep! My eldest sister lives there, you have to visit her at the Pokemon Centre!" She laughed that musical laugh again, "I'm sure you'll love it there Neve. It's very beautiful."

Chansey soon returned with Neve's pokemon and she waved goodbye to Nurse Joy, letting Marina out of her pokeball again. The two left the pokemon centre and made their way down to the exit of the city, leaving and surfacing on the other side. The jetty there was empty today, so Neve and Marina sat up on the smooth wooden surface, shiny with seawater, and Neve kicked her feet in the water as Marina batted the lapping waves with her little paws.

Neve was wondering whether to let out her other pokemon when she saw the boat rounding the side of the volcano. She had never seen anything so magnificent! It was huge, white and gleaming, and the windows to many cabins flashed in the sunlight. It cut through the water like a swan and was slowing down to dock at the jetty in a matter of minutes.

Some clunking preceded a set of smooth metal steps being lowered from the side of the boat, and a small number of happily chattering tourists stepped off. Neve overheard them saying how exciting it was that they were going to enter a city underwater and something about the Wailmer watching excursions, and when they had got off the steps there was room for Neve to get on. The steps were narrow and steep, but smooth and gleaming in the sunlight. She held on to the strap of her bag and peered up, emerging onto a smooth wooden floored landing, with rails in shining silver, in front of a man in a uniform with a clipboard and a pen.

"Uh…" She suddenly realised he might be expecting some sort of ticket, and looked down at Marina for help as the man ticked off several names she presumed had been the people who had just got off the boat. He looked up with a smile.

"Ah, you must be Neve." She nodded. "Steven called ahead about you." He looked down to his clipboard again and flipped over the page, reading something. "I have your cabin number here, if you'll just follow me please, Madam." He turned around with a smile and gestured for her to follow him along the decking. Neve looked down at Marina, smiling, and mouthed "Madam?"

The man turned into an open doorway and they were suddenly enveloped in crisp, cool air. The wooden floor continued down this corridor and there were shiny white doors every so often. They turned a couple of corners and came out into a hall, with three different corridors leading off it. The lovely smell wafting from one made Neve think the dining area was down there, and there was a very ornate staircase with a shining gold banister leading upstairs. Neve followed the man up the stairs, and down another corridor, and he stopped outside one of the doors, holding out a key.

"This is your cabin Miss Neve." He handed over the key with another smile and checked the clipboard again. "Dinner is served at seven o'clock tonight and is included in your travel. We are expecting to dock at Mossdeep at around eleven tomorrow morning. If you need anything, staff quarters are down the corridor on the left off the main hall and there will always be someone at reception to assist you. Feel free to explore the ship. I hope you enjoy your stay."

"Thank you very much," Neve grinned; this was going to be fun. The man turned and walked back the way they had come, as she inspected the key and inserted it into the lock. It turned with a soft click and the door swung open.

The room she was greeted with was beautiful. The floor was carpeted in soft blue carpet the colour of the glinting sea, and she immediately took off her shoes to feel it between her toes. The smile remained glued to her face as she slowly walked around the room, admiring the double bed with its white linen sheets and huge, double windows overlooking the ocean outside. The window was open slightly and the sea breeze billowed the white chiffon curtains. The bathroom was covered in white tiles and the shower had many different buttons, all of which Neve wanted to try.

The boat was speeding along by now, and Neve went back over to the window and threw her two remaining Pokeballs. Tider and Snow sped outside, skimming along the waves. Neve laughed as Marina leapt outside the window to join them, and she wished she had fins so she could twist and leap alongside them.

After a while, she called them back inside. She wanted to explore the ship a little. She pocketed the key and snapped the door shut behind her, making sure her pokeballs were safely on her belt and Marina by her ankles. Following the winding corridors and up a flight of stairs, she found herself on the upper deck of the ship. The wind buffeted her hair about her face, and people everywhere laughed and talked with each other. Many had their pokemon out and were playing games with them; one boy had a Wingull that was flying in the slipstream, dipping its wings on the wind, making the boy laugh with happiness.

Marina walked over to the small jacuzzi at the end of the deck, and leant with her back on the rails, surveying the people. She locked eyes with another boy, this one only a year or two younger than herself, and smiled. He, however, scowled and marched over to her, a pokeball in his hand.

"Go Firebolt!"

There was a flash of red light and a pokemon exploded out of the pokeball, growling and snarling. It was orange with black stripes, and tuft of yellow mane on its head and a fluffy tail. Neve had never seen a pokemon like it before. The boy was obviously expecting a battle, and Neve's only battling experience was with the other Sootopolis children in her youth and occasional trainers on the rocky islands looking for a match. But it didn't happen often, and this boy and his pokemon looked like they knew what they were doing.

Neve looked at Marina, who leapt forward with a "Poreeeon!", crouched low to the ground with her head down, ready to spring. At a shout from the boy, the pokemon opposite shot a jet of fire at Marina, who leapt aside just in time. The boy opposite didn't wait for Marina to get ready, but cried out "Flame Wheel, now!" The pokemon let out a roar and threw back its head, the tips of the fur on its head and around its neck glowing red and letting off a shower of sparks which formed a red wheel of fire. It flew, spinning, at Marina who leapt out of its path with a high pitched cry. Neve gasped in surprise and stepped back as the wheel spun past her, before fading into the air. A small crowd began to gather around them.

The boy screwed up his hands into fists in frustration at his miss, and shouted; "again, Firebolt! Again!" The pokemon threw back its head, but Neve was ready this time.  
>"Marina, use Aqua Tail!"<p>

The Vaporeon lifted her tail flukes into the air and they shone a misty blue. She quickly leapt forward, swinging her tail and it collided with the roaring pokemon with the force of a storm-tossed wave, soaking it in water. The pokemon staggered, whined and fell forward. They had won.

"Firebolt" The boy ran forwards and crouched next to his pokemon, pulling a pokeball from his belt. Neve hurried forward too and delved into her bag, pulling out a red and yellow spray bottle.

"Here, hold still," Neve said to the fallen pokemon. She looked up at its trainer. "I'm just going to use this Super Potion, ok? It's quicker than getting to a nurse, I'm not even sure if there is one on this ship." She sprayed the contents of the bottle onto the pokemons fur, and after a few seconds, it shakily got to its feet.

Out of the battle, the pokemon was very gentle-looking. It had a kind, fluffy face and stood on its hind legs to lick the boys face. Its fluffy tail wagged and Neve was reminded strongly of a puppy.

"Is it a boy?" Neve asked, watching the pokemon sniff excitedly at Marina, who sniffed back in return.

"Yup. His name's Firebolt." The boy grinned, standing up. "He's a Growlithe." Neve got to her feet too and looked at the Growlithe. She had never seen one before.

"You have a Vaporeon, right?" Neve could see his eyes shining as he looked at Marina. She nodded.

"Most people don't know what she is at first. Vaporeons are not really-"

"-from around here. I know." The boy cut in. "Neither are Firebolt and me. We travelled here, training. We want to be the best." He looked very excited, and very proud. "I came out here looking for something. We've been training on an island called Dewford, and both Firebolt and me want him to evolve. But he can't." He looked at Marina again, this time a slight look of sadness in his eyes.

"Why can't he? He seems to be strong enough. Between you and me, even though Marina is a water pokemon I was a little worried, that Flame Wheel really packed some heat!" She grinned. "Come on. Don't be sad. You wanna go get some food? I think they'll be serving dinner soon."

In no time at all the two trainers were sat at a table, plates piled high with an assortment of rice, vegetables in all kinds of spices and seasonings, breads and cheeses. Marina had let her pokemon out of their balls and they ate out of bowls filled with a selection of fruit-based pokemon foods. The boy, who Neve learned was called Ren, had let out his Growlithe and his second pokemon, a Manectric, who were eating with Neve's pokemon.

"So, Neve…" Ren began, after swallowing a mouthful of bread. "How come your Eevee evolved into Vaporeon? I guess you sure like water pokemon, it's all you have."

Neve nodded. "I love water pokemon. I'm a diver by trade, I earn my living off what I can find on the seafloor. My pokemon all help me, they're wonderful. If they weren't water pokemon, they couldn't come with me to explore the sea." Ren nodded, his gaze more intent than before. Neve carried on; "I let Marina choose the evolution herself. Of course, you know all about Eevees. It suits both of us, she's happy and so am I."

Ren seemed to be teetering on the edge of saying something. He kept glancing at Firebolt, then at Marina, and Neve, before quickly looking away again.

"Uhh… Neve… I know we just met… but I have something to ask you." He kept his head down and stared resolutely at his plate. "I was wondering… Well, you see, Firebolt can't evolve, because we need a Fire Stone." His gaze met hers. "After everything you told me, I'm sure you could help us! I came all this way to find a red shard in the sea, because I heard about a man on Route 124 who collects them and will give a Fire Stone to anyone who finds one! I have to get one!" His stare wandered back to his pokemon again. "But I don't know how, neither of my pokemon could help me and I don't know how to do it on my own."

Neve didn't have to think about it for very long. She knew how important evolution had been for all her own pokemon. "I have someone to see in Mossdeep when I get there. When I have some spare time, I will gladly help you find a red shard. And I'm sure all my pokemon will too!" She smiled. "It'll be fun. A diving adventure in some different sea."

Ren looked as though he could have hugged her. After dinner they said goodnight, and Neve headed back to her cabin with Marina alongside her.

"Well, looks like we somehow have more to do now." Marina purred in response as Neve slipped the key into the lock and the door clicked open. The cool carpet and tranquil décor seemed to have Neve lulling into a soft, gentle sleep before she had even got undressed and into bed, and as soon as her head sank into the pillow she was floating on rocking, ocean dreams, swimming in clouds and flying in water, with a giant pokemon that lit up her imagination in red patterns.


End file.
